These summaries were prepared by McGuireWoods LLP lawyer Thomas
E. Spahn. They are based on the letter opinions issued by the
Virginia State Bar. Any editorial comments reflect Mr. Spahn's current
personal views, and not the opinions of the Virginia State Bar, McGuireWoods or its clients.

A lawyer may represent a wife in a divorce case even though the lawyer previously represented the husband in a land dispute. In the previous representation, the lawyer learned general financial information about the husband, including the value of the property and the husband's difficulty in paying attorneys' bills, but this information was of a general and a public nature and not a "confidence or secret."